


Akaashi's Best Birthdays

by wing_dingding



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Captain Akaashi Keiji, Fluff, M/M, Pro Volleyball Player Bokuto Koutarou, Third Year Akaashi Keiji, Timeskip, also bokuaka because why not, awkward confessions, but im a day late :), fukurodani is one big family and you can't argue with me, it's all fluff? always has been., my offering for akaashi day, promise rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27923701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wing_dingding/pseuds/wing_dingding
Summary: "As he exited school, absolutely exhausted and weighed down by his bag, the last thing Akaashi expected was for a very familiar voice to call out: “Keiji!”"Akaashi remembered his birthday parties at Fukurodani vividly, they were among some of his favorite days. Now that his upperclassmen (specifically Bokuto Koutarou) had graduated, he expected for today to be less exciting. It was very out of character of him to assume Bokuto wouldn't celebrate his boyfriend's birthday, even if they were all graduated.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Minor Konoha Akinori/Washio Tatsuki
Comments: 6
Kudos: 83





	Akaashi's Best Birthdays

**Author's Note:**

> December came so fast, y'all. I only realized Akaashi's birthday was coming upon on the 2nd and rushed to come up with some ideas that included bokuaka so here it is :)

Akaashi still remembered his birthday party from last year. In fact, he also remembered the one from the year before that. 

It wasn’t that he had no memory of anything prior, but those specific ones were forever etched in his mind. The shock he felt during his first year at Fukurodani when his upperclassmen, mostly the second years, went out of their way to throw him a party. The cupcakes and homemade cookies they had stashed away and the party hats that were thrown around were unforgettable.

Bokuto Koutarou, star player, had taken Akaashi to the side to give him a hug, a couple of gifts (a card and a large stuffed animal), and wished him a very happy birthday. It was one of the best birthdays Akaashi had ever experienced.

The following year, his birthday had to be the best thing he had ever experienced in general, next to seeing Bokuto play for the first time and when his parents let him have his own room with furniture of his choice. 

During morning practice, he had been given a large card signed and decorated by the entire team, including Yukie, Kaori, and Coach Yamiji. It had been stuffed with pictures taken of them together, which Akaashi still had pinned on a bulletin board in his room.

After afternoon practice, they all went to Washio’s house as his was the biggest and therefore was able to accommodate the chaotic boys’ volleyball team. Yukie had made rape blossom dipped in soy sauce and mustard, his favorite, along with onigiri. She and Bokuto had apparently also collaborated on a cake, a strawberry one with frosting that tasted similar to vanilla ice cream. 

Based on food alone, Keiji would rank it highly. Though, there was more. There always was when it came to his teammates.

He had received so many gifts and cards that put a huge smile on his face and set a warmth in his chest. He could still remember the way his cheeks hurt from smiling and his stomach ached from eating so much and laughing so hard. 

Yet again, Bokuto, top 5 ace and star, took the birthday boy aside. Akaashi remembered this part vividly.

_ “Happy birthday, ‘Kaashi!” Bokuto had exclaimed, grinning so widely that his eyes were squeezed shut.  _

_ ¨Thank you, Bokuto-san,” Keiji replied, a small smile forming against his will. _

_ Bokuto fidgeted for a minute, unusually quiet. It was abnormal to see, especially since there had just been a party. Akaashi didn't think someone as loud and exciting as Bokuto would be upset about a party thrown for his best friend (Bokuto´s words, not his). _

_ ¨Oh!¨ Bokuto exclaimed before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small jewelry box. _

_ Against all logical judgement, Akaashi´s heart stuttered at the sight and his eyes widened. _

_ ¨Bokuto-san, I-¨ _

_ ¨I got us friendship bracelets!¨ _

_ ¨Friend….friendship?¨ Akaashi repeated, lost.  _

_ ¨Yeah!¨ Bokuto responded, opening the black box to reveal a silver chain with a circular charm that read ´frien´ bunched up next to another almost identical chain, minus the charm that read ´dship´. _

_ ¨Frienship.¨ _

_ ¨W-we are friends, right?¨ Bokuto stuttered, looking at the box and then back up at Akaashi. _

_ Akaashi blushed and nodded. This was not going how he wanted it to go. _

_ ¨Okay, it´d be really awkward if you secretly hated me or something,¨ Bokuto laughed.  _

_ ´I can't think of a single thing that would make me hate you,´ Akaashi thought before reconsidering, ´except maybe being racist or anything along those lines.´  _

_ Before he could even control it, his brain decided to create the absolute worst thought ever. _

_ ´What if he's homophobic?´ _

_ ¨Do you want me to put it on for you?¨ Bokuto successfully snapped Keiji out of it, gesturing to his arm. _

_ ¨Ah, yes. Thank you.¨ _

_ ¨No problem!¨ _

_ Bokuto took a bracelet out and put the box away, picking up Akaashi´s wrist and examining it for a few seconds. _

_ ¨You have really pretty hands, ´Kaashi.¨ _

_ Unable to reply to that, the setter just hummed. Bokuto let go of his wrist and wrapped the chain around it, the metal cool as it hit his skin. _

_ ¨What if we became, uh,¨ Bokuto seemed to search for the words, his voice getting quieter, ¨more than friends.¨ _

_ Akaashi almost jerked his wrist away, eyes widening and mouth opening. He stayed silent, watching as Bokuto fumbled with the clasp of the bracelet. _

_ ¨Do you want to be my boyfriend, Bokuto-san?¨ Keiji attempted to say in his usual calm voice, but the hesitation and shyness was very obvious. _

_ Bokuto finally hooked the bracelet together and wrapped his hand around Akaashi´s wrist again. His hands were warm and grounding, but not enough to remove him from whatever dream land this was. _

_ ¨Can I?¨ _

_ Before Akaashi could catch up with his head, the words already left his mouth. _

_ ¨Please do.¨ _

  
  


And, as horribly awkward as that was, Akaashi wouldn't change it for the world. 

Whenever he missed Bokuto-who was all the way in Osaka, he´d fiddle with the charm. While the ´frien´ was engraved into the little circle, the black paint from inside had already began to chip away. He wasn't wearing the bracelet for the condition, though.

This year, he didn expect any life changing memories on his birthday. His upperclassmen who had been there for the last two years of his life graduated, anyways. Akaashi didn't remember telling anyone that it was his birthday either.

´You´re the captain, it doesn't matter what day it is. You need to lead,´ He reminded himself. ´But what would Bokuto-san do?´

There he was again, trying to recreate what Bokuto had. When Bokuto was captain (and honestly when he was on the team), everyone was close and managed to easily rely on each other. While sometimes people doubted their place on the team, it was rare to remain like that. Bokuto was a strong leader who could read people and come up with a pep talk with the weirdest, somehow correct reasoning everytime. Plus, he had somehow managed to become a ´normal ace´ (his words, not Akaashi´s) himself. 

This was something that he always did. He´d be on one topic, then compare himself to Bokuto, then panic over not being able to lead well. He would then eat, finish his homework, text his boyfriend goodnight, and fail to fall asleep as thoughts continued to plague him. He had a wonderful routine.

  
  


¨Good morning, Akaashi-san! Happy birthday!¨ Anahori said, handing a small gift bag to the other setter.

¨Happy birthday, Akaashi-san,¨ Onaga repeated before pulling out a card. ¨These are from both of us.¨

It would make sense that Anahori and Onaga remembered as they had been on the team last year and at the party. Akaashi just hoped they didn't tell the rest of the team. What if Coach Yamiji told everyone? No, he knew his students. He wouldn't do that.

Akaashi realized that he had been silent, gifts in hand, for a bit. That's embarrassing.

  
¨Thank you Anahori-kun, Onaga-kun,¨ He said, offering a small smile.

That satisfied his kouhais enough to leave him be, which was good enough for Akaashi. 

  
  


He wasn't exactly conditioned for some surprise as, if he would get one, it was only the third time it happened  _ but  _ that didn't mean he was entirely throwing out the possibility of them celebrating. 

The old team from last year had collectively worked hard to get more second and first years to join so that there would be more third and second years the following year. Because there were little second years who were truly desired to be vice captain to Akaashi (they were either inexperienced or didn't care enough), he had gotten Onaga to be his vice. 

Even though most of the team were newbies, Akaashi still appreciated them. Him, Onaga, Anahori, and Coach Yamiji maintained enough of the closeness that had been there last year and they were still a powerhouse school.

All of this background was coming back to Keiji as he stood in the decorated gym in front of his team, all wearing party hats. 

¨Happy birthday, captain!¨ 

Even though he didn't want to make a big deal of his birthday, he couldn't ignore the warmth welling up in his chest and smile growing on his face. 

As it turns out, Onaga and Anahori had gathered everyone to plan a small celebration before practice. Small, meaning he was given food and gifts for later and then had to help clean everything up so that they could practice.

It was short lived, but it was still something. Akaashi appreciated it.

  
  
  


Afternoon practice went as usual, other than the team being a little nicer to Akaashi. They were always nice, though, so it was more just kissing up. 

Practice concluded and Akaashi could finally go home and go to bed. It was Friday, which meant he didn't have to do anything. His parents planned his birthday party on Sunday for all his relatives to come and act like they remember anything about Keiji other than the fact that he wanted to be a doctor in elementary school. 

As he exited school, absolutely exhausted and weighed down by his bag, the last thing Akaashi expected was for a very familiar voice to call out: “Keiji!”

He also didn’t expect for his boyfriend and former upperclassmen to be- well, not patiently or politely, but still awaiting him right outside. 

“Ko- Bokuto-san?” Akaashi said, quickly making his way to the group.

As he wrapped his arms around the other man, the rest of the group joined in after a moment.

“You can call him Koutarou when you’re with us, y’know,” Komi said as he pulled away, fixing his jacket.

“Let them be shy, it’s not like they’ve been dating for a year or anything,” Konoha smirked.

Even though he was the center of their teasing at the moment, Keiji couldn’t help grinning. He missed hanging out with everyone.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, though he already knew.

Bokuto, still clinging to the Fukurodani captain, exclaimed, “We’re here for your birthday!”

“Not to ruin the moment, but we have tons of Chinese sitting on my counter that I’d rather not have spoil and stink up,” Suzumeda piped up.

“Yeah, or get cold,” Sarukui agreed.

“We can always reheat it,” Akaashi said.

Despite all of this being correct, they still decided to go and catch the train before they had to walk all the way to the apartment.

The trip to the apartment was a bit eventful, considering one of the most popular up and coming athletes, Bokuto Koutarou, and Komi Haruki, a blooming actor, were in the group. They had a few stares, especially since there was a poster in the station that had none other than Bokuto, along with the rest of the Jackals, standing triumphantly. 

Akaashi wasn’t exactly used to this yet, he barely got to see Bokuto now that they were in different cities. While it was uncomfortable and he didn’t think his boyfriend was extremely thrilled with many adults and children alike following his every move as he tried to wish Akaashi a happy birthday, Akaashi would manage.

“Akaashiiii,” Bokuto said, quieter than usual since they were on a train, “you’re eighteen!”

“I am.” Keiji smiled, trying his best not to hold the older boy’s hand.

That was an unexpected part of their relationship. Akaashi didn’t think he’d be the touchy one out of the two as Bokuto was always hugging, high fiving, and patting people on the back but to the surprise of everyone, including Akaashi, he was constantly needing some sort of physical touch. He stopped himself, though. Bokuto was finally becoming what Keiji knew he would be: a star athlete. He was going to become a household name and dating someone, let alone another man, wasn’t going to make him as open as he could be. 

And while Akaashi was thinking this through, Bokuto had clasped Akaashi’s hand and began to play with the friendship bracelet.

“My bracelet’s chain broke four months ago,” The spiker said, eyes still fixed on Akaashi’s hand.

“Oh, Akaashi, you should’ve seen it,” Konoha butted in, amused.

“He texted us all panicky,” Washio joined in, a similar expression on his face.

“I didn’t have a spare chain sitting around!” Bokuto defended. “Plus, you guys weren’t very helpful anyways. I had to go and buy a chain online just to get a super long necklace one.”

“It isn’t our fault that you didn’t check the measurements.” Sarukui rolled his eyes.

Bokuto used his free hand to touch around his neck before pulling out a necklace from his hoodie, the little charm at the bottom spinning.

“See!” He lifted Akaashi’s wrist up so the two silver circles were next to each other. “Friendship!”

Akaashi hummed in agreement, allowing Bokuto to do whatever with his hand.

“You two are-” Suzumeda began before getting cut off by the rest of the group. 

“Disgusting.”

“You guys are just jealous that me and Keiji are perfect together,” Bokuto replied with a smug smile.

Akaashi blushed but still said, “You act as if you and Washio aren’t the same, Konoha-san.”

The blond spluttered, obviously offended.

“I don’t think we’re so ‘in your face’ about it, y’know!” 

“Hm.”

“Akinori, there’s no winning with those two,” Washio said, putting a hand on the other man’s arm. 

He seemed to have let it go (for now) and a comfortable silence fell among the group.

  
  


By the time they arrived at Suzumeda’s apartment, the Chinese food was cold and a bit soggy.

“Aw man, now your birthday food is all gross,” Bokuto said, picking up a soft egg roll.

“It’s alright, Kou,” Akaashi assured, “Like I said, we can just reheat the food.”

The fried rice was heated up first and finished quickly while the vegetable stir fry and rice was put in the microwave.

“Thank you,” Keiji said, placing his empty plate on the coffee table in front of the couch. “You guys didn’t have to do any of this.”

“What do you mean?” Komi asked, mouth still full, “We’re like family. It’d be weird if we didn’t do something.”

“We’ve been planning for our schedules to be cleared up so we’d all be free for this,” Washio said.

Akaashi didn’t know what to do with this information.

He was smiling, he was very aware of that. Along with that, though, he felt his eyes watering. The last time he cried had to be when Bokuto had left and gone to Osaka.

“He’s getting all old and emotional now,” Sarukui said, rolling his eyes.

“Y-you’re older than me, Sarukui-san,” Akaashi choked out, wiping at his eyes.

“Washio-san, you broke him,” Suzumeda joked, handing the youngest of the group a few napkins.

Bokuto had been sitting next to him on the couch and stretched an arm around his boyfriend, pulling him closer to his chest.

“Are you ready for gifts?” He asked, quiet enough for just Akaashi to hear.

After a nod, everyone removed themselves from the packed couch and picked up gift bags and wrapped boxes left on and behind the dining table.

As usual, there were a bunch of sappy and joke cards that Akaashi put in a stack, as well as old photos and videos brought back from high school. He received books, a nice t-shirt, candy from different parts of the world, and a gift card for audiobooks. He had yet to get something from Bokuto, though.

Once Akaashi opened everything, everyone seemed to become preoccupied with the TV and/or their phones. Everyone except for Bokuto.

‘Ah, he must’ve planned something,’ Akaashi realized. ‘He usually tried to go above and beyond with all this, it makes sense.’

“Wanna go to the balcony? We can see the stars outside!” Bokuto suggested.

“Sure,” Akaashi replied as he really had no choice.

Bokuto was right, they could see the stars. Because of the amount of lights outside, there weren’t many visible, though. With the small twinkling and the thin crescent of the moon, along with the sky illuminated by street lamps and buildings with large neon signs, it was beautiful in its own right. Akaashi was still sure it would be better naturally.

“You can’t really see much, but look! That star over there!” Bokuto pointed vaguely to the left, one hand gripping the railing. 

Keiji followed and searched the sky until he found what he assumed Bokuto was talking about.

“You’re right, it looks amazing. It pales in comparison to you, though.”

They both blushed at the extremely cheesy compliment and went quiet. 

It was December, meaning it was already freezing. Wind would blow every couple of seconds, drying out Akaashi’s eyes and making him shiver. He should’ve put on his jacket before coming out.

Before he could voice his discomfort, Bokuto draped part of his jacket over Akaashi’s shoulder, making sure it at least wrapped around his shoulder. After this, he took his scarf and did a similar thing. 

“Better?” He asked, pulling Akaashi closer to his side.

“Much better, thank you.”

There was that silence again. It felt oddly familiar and from the way Bokuto was fidgeting, it was safe to assume something important would be happening.

“Keiji, we’ve been dating for a year now.”

“That’s right, today is our anniversary.”

“And I’ve liked you for a lot longer than that.”

Akaashi wasn’t quite sure where this was going, but he nodded.

“What about you?” 

“I’ve probably loved you for over a year, Koutarou.”

Bokuto turned himself so that he was facing Akaashi and, to prevent the jacket from slipping off and the scarf from choking him, Akaashi turned around, too. Also, he was hopelessly in love and wanted to see Bokuto's face.

A warm hand settled on his cheek and Akaashi leaned into it. He felt content, despite it being absolutely freezing.

"We're still young," Bokuto said, his hand reaching into his pant pocket, "but I want to be with you for a while."

"I do too," Akaashi whispered, glancing from his boyfriend's face to his hand, which was now holding something.

"I know you're still in high school, so you don't have to say yes or no yet but, uh," He opened his hand, revealing a gold band, "I'm willing to wait for you."

Akaashi stiffened, eyes widening.

"What is this?"

"It's a promise ring!" Bokuto said, holding the ring between his index finger and thumb. "It means we promise to be with each other, y'know? Since you're still in school, I get it if you don't want to say anything yet and I'm sorry if it's awkward but I-"

Snatching the ring, Akaashi leaned in and placed his lips on Bokuto's.

"Yes," He breathed, arms reaching around the waist.

Akaashi could confidently say that this was now his best birthday and was among his favorite days.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> And that's it, I hope y'all liked it! If you could leave kudos or comments that would be very appreciated 😻


End file.
